Trust is currency in the business world. How them can an individual optimize trust into professional advancement? Whether you are in the hunt for a career or looking to advance in your profession, the currency with the highest rate of exchange for both employment and advancement is the same – trust. Trust requires hard work and consistency to establish but is even harder to regain if you have devalued your trust ratio with poor or inconsistent performance. At the core of proving your trustworthiness are three simple concepts (many parents will resonate with these values): 1) Do what you’re told 2) Do it when you are told 3) Do it with the right attitude Regardless of where you are at on the ladder, there is usually someone on the rung(s) above you. Trust in its most basic form is the transaction of turning a request/order into an action. For example, your boss instructs you to do something and you do it. There was trust that you could understand the instruction, trust that you were a person that may be capable of accomplishing the task and trust that you would be a person that would follow through to completion. When you are hired by an organization, they trust that you can fulfill certain functions. If you have the desire to move upward within the organization, you need to communicate that you are capable of additional responsibilities. Your ability to move forward is proportionate to your ability to master your current tasks. As you desire to communicate your advancement potential, take an inventory on how well you have completed your current functions – doing what your are told, when you are told and doing so with a good attitude. If you have never been asked to do something outside of your everyday functions, this should be a red flag for you. What are the options? Is there really nothing outside of what you’re already doing that the organization needs help with? Not likely. Are you so important in your current functions that they cannot spare you for any other task? You are important, probably not that important. The lack of interest in you likely means you haven’t communicated that you are capable or trustworthy in some fashion. If you haven’t been asked in a while, you may want to rewind the tape and see how you performed the last time your were approached with an opportunity. So often when our vision is on the big assignments, we miss the small steps that get us there. A good organization will give you chances to grow through a process. This process of maturation in an organization better prepares you to grow at a pace you can maintain. Regardless of what you are being asked to do, as long as it’s not illegal, recognize this as your moment to do what you are told, when you are told and to perform with a good attitude. Every opportunity to perform a task outside of your regular duties is an opportunity show the leaders in your organization what you’re capable of (often times a few small steps/tests at a time). What if you have been doing all this and you are still getting all the crap assignments? Either the organization is telling you what your communicated value is – you will have to judge whether this perception of you is accurate or not. If you believe you deserve more then you may want to request a review and ask some questions about your performance as well as what your opportunities are within the organization. The other option would be to walk yourself through an honest self evaluation and enlist the feedback from people you trust to give you sincere constructive criticism. If your self evaluation and the input from those you trust have led you to a place where you are confident that you have done all in your power, it may be time to find another team to work with. Professional advancement is built one step at a time, establishing trust by mastering the tasks you have been assigned as well as taking advantage of the opportunities for additional responsibility that come your way. We often counsel people that life is about opportunity not convenience, as often the opportunities you will get to move yourself forward will likely come at many of the most inopportune or inconvenient times. You need a big picture perspective for setting your goals, but don't have your head so far in the clouds or your heart so far down the track that you can't see or take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of you.
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Regardless of the name it is given in an organization - teamwork or unity or something fancy like synergy – issues are par for the course when humans are involved. A normal day becomes a day of trials when upon entering the office there is that feeling in the air – the leader knows, there is a disturbance in the force. When a synergy shift is noted, it’s time to put the detective hat on and determine whether these are temporary disturbances that are normative or if there is a deeper disruption festering within the group. In the course of an investigation of discordance a good sleuth will distinguish between symptoms and source(s). When it comes to deficiencies in teamwork, often inexperienced leaders will address unity as its own source when in reality it is a symptom. Here's a thought - teamwork is not fixed by teamwork. To put it another way, talking about unity, training on cooperation or attempting to force synergy into the system often will not cure an issue as all of these efforts are chasing symptoms rather than addressing source. Teamwork is a product, it develops from other sources within your team. Conversely, a lack of teamwork is a symptom, it manifests to expose sources of malignancy within your organization. At its foundation, teamwork is a product of trust – the “T” in Team is for Trust. Trust Springs From The Head Of The Fountain When trust is built into the fabric of a team, teamwork will thrive. Without trust, teamwork will be cyclical at best and will not be able to establish roots within the organization. In the process of building a team, trust has to be a core value from the top down. A few questions that will help reveal whether there is a foundational trust issue include: 1) Does leadership trust each other? 2) Is the leadership team setting an example of trust? Leaders who believe in the vision, who respect their co-workers and promote the beauty of both will organically transfer a level of trust throughout the organization. Leaders who have not bought into the vision and/or have reservations about the trustworthiness of their coworkers will emit a level of distrust that will hinder the development of unity in the organization. Trust Starts With Trustworthy People Does your hiring process seek and add trustworthy people to the organization? Employees are watching who leadership hires, as who and how a company hires reinforces or contradicts what leadership has declared as it's values. Is there consistency in how leadership deals with core issues that test the building of trust within the team? The working measure of trust in the workplace is, “Can I trust you to do what you say?” When a team member commits to performing a task, regardless of how simple or complex, can the other members of the team trust that their teammate will do their best to follow through on their commitments? Trust Builds Momentum Through Consistency People that may not have the strongest interpersonal relationships can still work with each other, if they have trust. When there is a disturbance in the force, when leadership is asking why teamwork is scant, the investigation trail should be aimed at sources of trust/mistrust within the organization. Low teamwork does not mean throw more teamwork at the void. The question should delve into sources that are undermining trust. Do team members trust each other? Does management trust it’s employees? Trust Flows Or Sputters With Conflict If teamwork starts with trust, trust survives or dies with truth. Truth fleshes itself in an organization by having a clear vision and bringing people who are invested in seeing that vision through. Truth can be a source of conflict. When conflict is brought about by a tangling among team members over truth, this interaction can be a constructive encounter and must be managed properly to net a positive result (read more on this in our article Embrace Conflict). A commitment to truth, the development of trust and the momentum of teamwork are all ingredients that must be intentionally maintained over the life of a team. Every organization desires unity, synergy will only result where teamwork is demonstrated, trust is protected and the truth is that teamwork has to be demonstrated. Are you an example for your team as to what teamwork looks like? Do your words and your actions establish the parameters for trust within your organization? The next time you have concerns or issues with teamwork, take a look at where trust is being built and where it is being undermined in your organization. Build trust by being creating clarity around truth in your organization, consistently protecting those values and developing accountability within the team from the top down and the bottom up. The first place to look when seeking to build trust, regardless of your position, is to ask whether you are exemplifying or undermining trust in the organization. |
AuthorThoughts on personal and professional development. Jon Isaacson, The Intentional Restorer, is a contractor, author, and host of The DYOJO Podcast. The goal of The DYOJO is to help growth-minded restoration professionals shorten their DANG learning curve for personal and professional development. You can watch The DYOJO Podcast on YouTube on Thursdays or listen on your favorite podcast platform.
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